Adventures in Pokhara

Golf
Just 7 kilometers from the center of Pokhara city is the himalayan golf course in Nepalrecently completed pro-championship designed 9 holes golf course which is located in a spellbindingly beautiful amphitheater like setting of a river canyon scene with a breathtaking panoramic view of the Annapuma Himalayan range. The Club house is perched on the edge of balcony land 250 feet above the river canyon from where you have a bird eye view below of the golf course with scenes of stunning canyon walls dotted with eagles nest, waterfalls. and the soothing sight and sound of the Himalayan snowfed river meandering through the golf course. Golfers will find the course challenging and invigorating to play on.

Paragliding

Paragliding is a relatively new adventure sport in Nepal, and little information is available in tourist guidebooks. Paragliding in this Himalayan country can be a truly wonderful and fulfilling experience for the adventure- seekers. You can experience unparalleled scenic grandeur as you share airspace with Himalayangriffin vultures, eagles, kites, while floating over villages, monasteries, temples, lakes and jungles, with a fantastic view of the majestic Himalayas. The last three years have seen the activity flourish in Pokhara, and it now is an internationally recognized destination for free flight enthusiasts.

LAN Gaming
Pokhara is also facilitated with computer LAN Gaming, you can come play many of the hottest new games (multiplayer or single player). Gaming stations hooked up to a 100 mbps network, along with PS2 (Play Station 2) equipped with all the latest games and a Microsoft's X-BOX. Team Death Match and Single Combat Match are organized monthly. Come by and play or just hang out. Gamespin Gaming Association and Pokharacity.com respectfully invites you and your Gamers to join for the na

tional qualifying event and LAN Party being held in Lalchan Plaza, Chipledhunga Come and enjoy 2 days of computer and X-box gaming competition where different prizes will be awarded.

Bowling

Krazy Land Bowling center has recently been opened in Pokhara. It is located in Nayabazar and is just a minute drive from the central market of Pokhara (Chipledhunga). Here there are two lanes and its a perfect place for visitors to hook in. It also has restaurant facilities.

Kayaking
Pokhara is within striking distance of no fewer than four rafting rivers - the Kali Gandaki, Trisuli, Seti and Marsyangdi. The Kali is probably the most popular trip out of Pokhara; the Trisuli is bette

r done out of Kathmandu, since the starting point is closer to there and the river flows towards Pokhara. The Seti is best known as the venue for Kayak clinics, which are organized by several companies; kayaks can be rented from most of the places

Mountain Bike
Pokhara also has good facility for cross country mountain biking. Mountain Bikes can be hired here in Lakeside in a very reasonable price.Meditation and Yoga

Many spiritual centres last only a season or two in Pokhara. One that appears to be permanent is Garden Yiga Chozin Buddhist Centre (tel 22923; gyc@mos.com.np), a very peaceful facility a short walk north of Lakeside, where regular residential courses and daily teachings are designed for mainly Western participants. Inquire about three-day retreats (Rs2600, all inclusive) and daily yoga, taichi and reiki sessions in high season (around Rs100). The centre's meditation hall and library are open to the public for free.

Shopping
Shopping is still a mainly outdoor activity in Lakeside and Damside, where laid-back curio stalls make a welcome change from the hard-driving salesmen of Kathmandu, even if their prices and selection don't quite compare. Local specialities include batiks , wooden flasks , dolls in ethnic dress and fossil-bearing shaligram stones from the Kali Gandaki. Hand-stitched wall hangings in simple Tibetan designs have been produced for the tourist market, but are attractive nonetheless. Persuasive Tibetans peddle their wares in Lakeside's caf?s, but these aren't produced locally, and carpets are best purchased at the Tibetan villages. Hand-knitted woollen sweaters, socks and such aren't of very good quality here, but may fit the bill for trekking. Kashmiris have colonized Lakeside, as they have Thamel, with boutiques touting "Asian" art: mainly high-priced carpets and cheap papier-m?ch? and soapstone widgets. Other than that, you'll find the usual range of tourist bait, most of it imported from Kathmandu: ritual masks, thangka, embroidered T-shirts (wear that trek!), cloth bags and hippie clothes. Stalls along the strip opposite the palace are extremely competitive.

The bookshops and stalls around Lakeside and Damside are individually small, but collectively they can muster a good selection. Pokhara's second-hand market is very good.

Ultra Light:
Ultra-light Aircraft is operated from Pokhara Valley, the major tourist destination in Nepal, famous for the Phewa Lake and the foothills of the Annapurna mountain range. It provides a unique sight seeing experience that enables the passengers to catch a bird's eye view of the Pokhara Valley and the Annapurna mountain range. The exception of flying in the aircraft is that there is only one passenger flying with one of the experienced pilot. (Please note that the passenger is not flying the aircraft by himself, he/she is just a passenger and experienced pilots fly the ultra light, passenger sits behind the pilot).

This aircraft is open and you can feel the breeze of the air, and make beautiful photographs, as there are no windows.

Information about the Aircraft
Air Safety: The operational speed ranges from 50 km/h to 130 km/h. The aircraft can fly for four hours and reach the height of 5000 meter and fly 300 km at a stretch. Its high aerodynamic qualities allow this delta wi

ng aircraft to perform long flights with the engine turned off. The aircraft is uniquely designed and filled with a ballistic parachute system, which will enable the aircraft to land safely during emergencies.

Operation time
Flights are operated at Pokhara airport from September till June from sunrise to 12 pm and 3 pm to sunset and there are three different routes:

Lakes:
Lakes with crystal clear water are the other objects of attraction. The name "Pokhara" meaning the valley of the lakes is itself derived from "Pokhari" which literally means a lake. There are eight lakes namely Phewa, Begnas, Rupa, Maidi, Khaste, Gunde, Dipang and Kamal Pokhari - inside the valley. Phewa, Begnas and Rupa are three lakes worth visiting. The following is the list of major lakes.

Lakes

Lakes

Area

Orientation

Phewa Lake

4.43 sq.km

NW-SE

Begnas Lake

3.00 sq.km

NE-SE

Rupa Lake

1.02 sq.km

NE-SE

Deepang Lake

0.64 sq.km

NE-SE

Maidi Tal

0.64 sq.km

NE-SE

Phewa Lake:
Phewa lake is the second largest lake of Nepal and the largest lake of Pokhara Valley. IT is situated at an altitude of 784m at the western edge of Pokhara city near Baidam. It covers an area of about 4.43 sq km with an average depth of about 8.6m, maximum water depth is 19m.
The maximum water capacity of the lake is estimated to be 46 million cubic meters. It lies in the valley of Harpan Khola which feeds the lake. On the southern mouth of the lake, at the crown of Pardi River, a dam is built which has nearly doubled the water level. The water of the lake is used for irrigation and electricity generation.

The lake is surrounded by Sarangkot and Kaskikot hills on the northern side. The hill running along the lake is Raniban (Queen of Forests) which is very rich in flora and fauna. Mammals like Common leopard, Bengal fox and Barking deer are common in this forest. It is a home of abundant avifauna also.

The first main attraction is the pagoda style temple in the lake which is the shrine of Barahi (Water Goddess). The next main attraction is the mirror image of mount Machhapuchhre and Annapurna range on the crystal clear water of the lake. The south - eastern side of the lake offers the best view. THere is facility of canoeing and fishing.

Phewa originally used to cover an area of 9 sq km but now has been reduced to 4.43 sq. km. Geologically the rocks of either side of Phewa are slate and quartzite and make anticline structure along the axis of the lake.

The lake is the home of 17 species of native fish and 4 exotic species. The forest and lake is the habitat of 6 species of amphibians, 14 species of reptiles, 34 species of mammals and 104 species of birds. Out of 104 species of birds, 14 are migratory species.The lake is linked with pitched vehicle road and boating facility is available.

Begnas Lake:
Begnas Lake, the second largest lake of Pokhara Valley is situated at an altitude of 650m. It is located in the Siswa village on the eastern part of Pokhara and is 13 km away from the Pokhara city. It covers an area of 3 sq. km. Average water depth of the lake is 9.37 and the maximum water depth is 13.84m. The capacity of the lake is 29.05 million cubic meter. It is comparatively deeper in the northern and western part in the comparision to eastern and southern part. The lake water is drained out by Khudi Khola from the western part.

Geologically the area is composed of slate and phyllite zone with beds of calcareous conglomerate and gravel deposits. The vegetation here is quite different than in other parts of Pokhara because here the major species on the southern aspect of the hills on the northern part of the lake is Shorea robuista whereas the major species of the forest on the northern aspect of the hill lying on the southern part of the lake is Schima-Castonopsis. The forest is very dense on the northern and southern part of the lake whereas there is cultivation on the eastern part and fishery project on the western part.

The forest is very rich in flora and fauna. The forest surrounding the lake is the habitat of more than 150 species of other birds. The northern part of the lake is best site for observing water fowls. The forest is also rich in mammals where abundant leoparts roam majestically. The pride of this forest is that it is the home of some endangered flora and fauna. You can enjoy boating and fishing in this lake. You can travel to the nearby villages by hiring the boat all the day.

Rupa Lake:
Rupa Lake is separated by the Pachabhaiya ridge from Begnas Tal, hence, these two lakes are often called the twin lakes. Rupa Lake is situated at an altitude of about 600m and covers an area of 1.12 sq km running along from north to south. The average depth of the lake is 3.0m and maximum water depth is 4.79m. Its water holding capacity is 3.1 million cubic meter.

Caves:

Mahendra Cave :
Mahendra Cave resides in Batulechaur. Its a 10 minute drive from chipledhunga the central market place of the Pokhara city. Mahendra cave has been named as per the Late King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev. This is also one of the most demanding tourist attraction center here in pokhara. It resides in the northern settlements of the valley.

Mahendra cave is rich for its rock types and different stones that glitters when a beam of light is striked in it. This natural formation is to see not to strike with sharp digging objects.

Bat Cave (Chamera Gupha) :
This cave is located a little far form the Mahendra cave in the west .This cave was also discovered by the owner of the land ? a farmer in the year 2040.Though the entrance is quite narrow but the inner part of the cave is wide enough. The images of the elephant tusk, gods and goddess have been craved on the inner walls of the cave.

This cave is 150 meter long , 25feet high and of the shape of ?U?. This cave is famous for the bats and gives shelter to more than 15 thousand bats of different species. This cave needs to be advertised more for its development . It can be a nice picnic spot.

Gupteswar Cave (Gupha) :
Gupteswar Gupha is a sacred cave, lies 2 km from Pokhara airport on the Siddhartha Highway leading southwest from the city. The entrance is right across from Devi's Fall and the cave is almost 3 km long. It has some big hall-size rooms and some passages where you have to crawl on all fours. This cave holds special value for Hindus since a phallic symbol of Lord Shiva is preserved here in the condition it was discovered. An entrance fee of Rs. 5 is charged and taking pictures inside the cave is prohibited.